A 17-year-old Palmerston North man has been arrested and charged with theft in relation to an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the CBD on Sunday 11 May, 2014.
The man was arrested this afternoon and also faces an unrelated burglary charge and will appear in the Palmerston North District Court on Thursday 29 May, 2014.
Detective Johnny Oram says: "Our investigation is now complete and we have established that there is insufficient evidence to support a sexual assault charge. We have spoken with all the people in the CCTV footage and other witnesses as their account was essential to our investigation to corroborate the sequence of events that morning.
"We also rigorously reviewed CCTV footage and launched a national appeal for information in an effort to gather evidence.
"Police take all complaints of sexual assault seriously and I hope this does not deter victims from coming forward with the assurance that their complaint will be thoroughly investigated.
"I also want to thank the public and media for their support with our investigation," says Detective Oram.
Police has no further comment to make.
Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Sara Stavropoulos on 027 702 0850.